The present invention relates to an acceleration pickup especially for release of occupant protecting devices in power vehicles in the event of an accident.
Acceleration pickups of the above mentioned general type are known in the art. One of such acceleration pickups has a seismic mass which is arranged on a spring element and is in operative connection with a release contact. This acceleration pickup cannot be tested in a built-in condition. The operation of the acceleration pickup provided for emergencies cannot be controlled automatically and at any time.
It is further known to make a seismis mass of ferromagnetic material and hold it by a magnetic system in a rest position. A deviation of the seismic mass is determined with the aid of a light barrier. Here a testing program is possible with uninterrupted current; however, an outside inertia force must act on the mass.